Rail-joint.



J. H. RAMSDELL.

RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED 513F122, 1911.

Eatenied July 2; 1912.

' ranged upon opposite sides of the rails and inverted perspective .view of the other of clined and rests upon siding at Newton Falls, in the county of 'of, construction and proved rail nnrrnn s'ra'rns 1 JAMES HOWELL RAMSDELL,

or NEWTON FALLS, c1110.

narnaom'r.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Janus H.. Rans- DELL, a citizen of the United States, re-.

Trumbull and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Joints, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to rail joints, and. has for its primary object to provide means whereby a very secure connection or joint at the abutting ends of-adjacent rail sections is obtained. I

A further objectof the invention resides in the provision of fish-plates adapted to be ar-' having flanges extending upon the top and bottom of the base flange of the rail, and interlocking means carried by said flanges to connect the same beneath the rail base.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a comparatively simple and eiiective device of this character which is extremely durable in construction and may be manufactured at'a small cost.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of the novel features;

the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafterfully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of my imoint showing the same applied and the rails illustrated in dotted lines; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the-rail connecting members or fish-plates; Fig. 3 is ansaid members; Fig. 4: is a transverse section showing the interlocking connection of the f =h-plates beneath the rail base; and Fig. 5 is a similar view, illustrating a slightly modified form of the device.

Referring in detail to the drawings, R indicates the rail and 5 and o designate the fish-plates which constitute the primary elements of my improved joint and are located or arranged upon the opposite faces of the web of the rail and extend upon the adjacent ends of abutting rail sections, as illustrated in Fig. 1. The fish-plate 5 is rovided with a laterally extending longituinal flange a at its lower edge which is downwardly intho upper surface of the rail base, contacting closely therewith. At the outer edge of this flange a the in- Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed September 2, 1911.

, q in the recesses f,

Patented July 2,1912. Serial No. s4 7,4,6o.-

wardly extending horizontal. 'plate e is formed, the upper surface of said plate be ing spaced from the under side of the flange I a to provide a longitudinally extending reces's or chamber inwhich the base flange ofthe rail is received. upon reference to Fig. 42 of. the drawing,

As will. be: observed the inner edge of this horizontally. disposed plate e is located directly beneaththe transverse center of the rail, and said plate is of appreciably This plate has formed upon its un er surface a plurality of rectangular lugs or bosses g which are arranged at interyals in spaced relation, as shown in Fig.3, and are adapted to be received in the similarlyshaped recesses or-seats f which are provided in the upper edge of the horizontallyextending plate (I formed upon the outer edge of the'fiange b of the fish-plate or joint seetion'G. The inner edge of the plate@ abuts againstdhe longitudinal shoulder f which is formed plate 41 bythe provision of the horizontal flange orv extension F thereon. When the fish-plates 6 are properly arranged upon the upon opposite sides of the rail sections and their oppositely extending horizontal plates d and e are disposed beneath the rail base and interlocked by the seating of the bosses it will be readily seen that any relative transverse movement of :these fish-plates or joint sections beneath the base of the rail is effectually prevented.

surface of the reduced edge portion. or flange F which projects from the inner less thickness than the flange a.

Inorder to relieve the interlocking bosses g of undue strain, the fish-plates 5 and 6 are provided in their web engaging portions with the bolt receiving openings 0, the openlngs 1n the plate 6 being threaded, as shown,

for engagement by the threads on the ends of the connecting bolts h, said bolts also pre venting any longitudinal movement of the joint members. It is, of course, understood that the webs of the rail sections are also provided with openings which register with the openings 0 andthrough which the fastening bolts are adapted to be disposed.

In Fig. 5 of the drawings I have illustrated a slightly modified form of the invention wherein the fish-plate 6 is provided with a stud i'in its vertical portion to be received in an opening rail so. as to effectually overcome any tendency of the fish-plates or joint members to move longitudinally upon the raiL;

in the web of the From the foregoing it is thought that the I construction and operation of my improved rail joint Will be fully understood. The device is simple, and may be readily arranged in position upon the rail sections at their abutting ends. The joint also provides an effectual reinforcing means or support'for the rail at the joint thereof and is extremely substantial and rigid when applied to the rail. The device may also be produced at a comparatively small cost.

While I have shown and described the preferred construction and arrangement of the various parts, it will be understood that the device is susceptible of considerable modification without departing from the es,-

,va'ntages thereof.

sntial feature orsacrificing any of the ad- Having thus described is claimed is v 1. A'rail joint comprising two members adapted to be arranged'upon opposite sides of the rail and having vertical portions engaging the Web of the rail and laterally extending -base engaging flanges on the lower edges of said vertical portions, horizontally disposed reversely extending plates formed on the outer edges .of said base engaging portions to extend beneath the rail base, one of said plates having a longitudinally extending reduced portion provided in its upper surface with a plurality of spaced depressions, said depressions being spaced from-the longitudinal edge of theplate, the

plate of the other of said members being disposed betweeMth e rail base and said re- Gopiesjfl this patent maybe obtained for five cents each, by addressing V. 1 Washington, D. 0.? s

the invention what duced portion of the first named plate and providedwith a plurality of rectangular bosses on its under face to fit into said-depressions whereby said plates are interlocked .and lield against relative transverse and longitudinal movement."

2. A rail joint comprising two members adapted to be arranged upon opposite sides of the rail and having vertical portions engagingwith the web thereof, said members being also formed at thelower end of said vertical portions with lateral flanges to engage upon the rail base-and reversely ex tending horizontally disposed plates-to ex: tend beneath the rail base, one of said plates being reduced in'thickness at its inner edge and provided with a pluralityof-rectangu- JAMES HOWELL RAMSDELL.

Witnesses:- a

W. RAMsnnLL, ELsm RAMsDELL.

the Commissioner of Patents, 

